I'm a porter and a night clerk at the old Hot Rod Hotel

I clean and scrub the lobby down and thirty one rooms as well

I wax and shine their boots and shoes, I brush down their crinkeldy clothes

I meet the buses and the trains and show you to your door



Bell bottom pants brought two boys in at six fourteen last night

Two girls checked in at ten otwo and I flipped on their light

The lamrods wife looks in their doors and finds one terrible sight

Those boys and girls got bawled up in their doors and rooms last night



A bloody flood could never messed these rooms up any worse

It looked like Moe had used this room to grease and breed a horse

Old gum and hairs and sticky rags, old bottles on the floors

Gobs of spit and condom rubbers on the windows, walls and doors



The lammy tried to make me clean up the crappy mess

Or else he'd fire me off my job and let me starve to death

I laid aside my polish rag and downed my dusting pan

And I've not seen the old Hot Rod nor that old town since then



WORDS: Woody Guthrie (1949) - MUSIC: Billy Bragg (1996)



JAY BENNETT: Farfisa organ, mandolin, electric guitar

BILLY BRAGG: acoustic guitar, vocals

KEN COOMER: drums

JOHN STIRRATT: electric bass

JEFF TWEEDY: acoustic guitar